Rebuilding bridges
by Breagen Berjik
Summary: AU. What if the beta testers and the normal players where driven appart on purpose? Can Kirito sway the public opinion on the beta testers? Written from the POV of Kirito so he might be slightly OOC. Rated M to be safe.
1. Ch 01 The final event

**AN: This is my very first fanfic so reviews are very welcome. Also, please remember that English is not my native language so my grammar will probably suck quite a lot (just warning you ;-) ). This story is written from the POV of kirito so he will probably be slightly OOC. Again please let me know if I am any good and what improvements I could make. Enough with all begging for help. Let's get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters(which is probably for the best).**

_Spoken words_

"written text"

**Chapter 1: The final event**

It was complete chaos… Sword skills where flying around everywhere you looked. Both monsters and players bursting into polygons by the dozens. Suddenly I spotted my target, a fiend with the head of a bull wearing a thick armour that looked like it was made of obsidian. Even worse was the fact that the creature was smashing around with a Warhammer as if it weighed next to nothing. Even though it was already surrounded by five high-levelled, I immediately tried to get close to it with all the speed I could muster. The bull-like creature activated a skill and immediately four of the five players disappeared in a cloud of blue polygons. The fifth one only got away with some of his hp left because I managed to barely bash him out of the way. _It's no use!_ He shouted at me when I turned let myself fall into a fighting stance across the beast. _This monster is way stronger than it has any right to be_. _Back me up or back out_ I simply answered. _It's all the same to me_. I turned back around without even looking what the other player would do. The creature still hadn't done anything to harm me. While in normal MMO's this could be seen as an advantage, it makes me slightly worried about this "event boss". SAO is no normal MMO after all and I have no doubt that it will choose a fighting style that counters mine as soon as I show any of it. As I took a closer look at it I noticed the health bars slightly left to his head. It still had five of his six bars left! This was going to be one hell of a long fight. I resigned myself with my fate as I unsheathed my blade and went for him. I feigned right but went left. The moment I came into his reach he suddenly increased the speed of his hammer even more. Retreating it from his right side and smashing his hammer down on me even faster than I had anticipated. Even with my reflexes, which has saved my skin in various occasion, he still managed to graze me. All I could do was a quick slash across his belly before I had to jump back out of his reach to avoid being pierced by one of his horns. His belly was sadly well protected by that stupid armour of his, so my slash had no noticeable effect. I was shocked however when I noticed that my own health bar had dropped below half! Of course I still had a couple of health potions for emergencies, but I wouldn't be able to keep up if things stayed like they were right now. The fiend didn't try to rush me. Why should he? All he had to do was wait until I was within his reach again so he could finish the job. Well, if he was already learning from the short clash we just had, than so should I! I started to carefully circle around the beast making sure not to get inside his reach while trying to find a weak spot. Decapitating him to try to end the fight quickly was impossible since he was wearing a collar around his neck. It was also impossible to just simply stab the beast in the face since his head was a weapon itself. The only major weakness I could find in his armour was its backside, which was mainly unprotected. If I could just put my blade in there… It would leave him completely defenceless! The main problem with this tactic was of course that it would mean that I would have to be inside his reach long enough to get to his backside. One misstep, one mistake and I would be gone. The plan was madness, my chances of survival close to suicide. I had to act fast though. With each passing minute the creature would learn more of me from my movement and with every little detail he would learn of me, my chances would shrink. I quickly made up my mind and dashed to his right assuming he would think it was another feint which would hopefully buy me a few precious moments. The fiend seemed to expect this though and he immediately activated the same skill he had used on those other four players as he swung his hammer at me. I could only admirer the mind who had managed to create a program that could predict a mad plan like mine just from my movement, before I braced myself for the inevitable blow that would end this fight. Only the blow never came… When I looked at the beast I noticed that his skill had been interrupted and that he was stunned. The fifth player had been watching the fight the whole time, waiting for the right moment to help. I quickly passed the creature, jumped up high and rammed my sword into his back. Later people would tell me it took me about minutes to slay this boss, but to me it felt more like five hours. Desperately trying to hold on to my blade releasing sword skill after sword skill while the fiend was trying to get me of his back. Apparently his presence had made the other monsters stronger because when he died the fighting all around me started to slowly die down. When even the last mobs where slain, we all teleported back to the town of beginning where there was a big message written in the sky: "Congratulations on completing the Beta test!". _Welcome my Beta testers. You have done well in completing my final test of sword art online. _Kayaba's voice was coming from everywhere but I was used to it by then. The first time Kayaba had used this system for announcements was on the openings ceremony of the beta and had been quite unnerving. _While this was the last day of the Beta, I will not let you leave with empty hands. In front of you you will see a account creation screen where you can already give your character name and password for the real game so that I can reserve it for you. All reserved account will start the game with slightly better starters gear and an 200% experience boost for the first two months. _The screen appeared in front of me but I just stared at it. A frown appeared on my face as I thought about this opportunity. Better starters gear and an experience boost was amazing of course but I would rather… As I pressed the cancel button a screen appeared asking me if I was sure, but I had already made up my mind. _Well then, that was the end of it, I am sure you are all thrilled to get started on the game. But you will have to wait with the other players to find out who is going to be the best amongst you all. I will see you all in the true Sword Art Online! _After he said that everything around me started to fall apart and it all turned black before a massage appeared: "A connection with SAO-BETA is no longer available".

**AN: So, Was it any good? Should I never get near a computer again? Please let me know.**

**I also would like to thank you for reading!**


	2. Ch 02 Equality

**AN: I am so sorry for refusing to write for so long! My only excuse is that I just wasn't looking forward to this chapter. I can't wait to start writing my own ideas but first I have keep writing to the point where the true story starts. I would like to just skip it, but that would look awful. So I'm expecting this chapter to take another several day to write. I hope it won't be too awkward. Let's just get this over with.**

**AN: I changed the rating to M just to be safe**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters (which is probably for the best).**

_Spoken words_

"Written text"

**Chapter 2: Equality**

_Link Start!_

After two annoyingly slow moths the day I was waiting for had finally arrived. Sword Art Online could, from this day forth, be completely played to its fullest. The past two months had been rough for everyone close to me. Which is basically another way of saying that Sugu's past weeks had sucked. In the end I even yelled at her for bumping into me in the hallway… I shouldn't have done that. But I had decided to make it up to her the next day. Not now though. I was starting to feel a little bit dizzy when the bright white of the link connection was fading to reveal that I was standing

In a black room with white light coming from the edges. A screen appeared in front of me asking if I had a reserved account or if I would like to make a new one. I grinned slightly before picking the last option. My character probably didn't look like much, but I was just too impatient to play the game again. And besides, it was not like I was going regret this later on (AN: terrible foreshadowing, I'm so sorry). A few moment later I was dashing trough the Town of Beginnings. Luckily they didn't change much of it since the beta because the town could be a real maze if you didn't know it well. While I was running towards the exit of the town I started to notice other players who were obviously new to the game. Some were chatting with each other and some were lost running in every direction clearly frustrated and already fed up with the starting town. There were also a few players just staring at their surroundings, admiring the details put in the buildings and the beautiful colour of the sky. It was good to finally be back. My aunt wouldn't be back until before tomorrow morning so I would have all day to play. After a couple hours of doing some easy quests and hunting boars (the equivalent of slimes in other mmo's) I figured I would be pretty hungry in real life. I couldn't notice it in the game but I hadn't eaten anything since breakfast so eating something probably wasn't a bad idea. When I opened the menu to log out I noticed something strange. Where was the log out button? There was no answer when I tried calling an admin. After a couple of tries I just gave up and sat down. If I wasn't the only one experiencing this bug then the admins were probably busy fixing it as fast as possible. In the mean time I would just have to wait for them to fix it or for Sugu to turn my nervegear off. I was just looking at my surroundings when I started to glow and I was transported back to the main square at the Town of Beginnings.

Figuring this would be about the bug I waited patiently ignoring all the players asking what was going on. _Welcome to sword art online Beta testers and regular players. _There was a bit of panic amongst the 9000 players who hadn't heard Kayaba's voice before, but the Beta testers all knew that this was Kayaba's preferred method when he was giving a message to all the players. It was a tad too dramatic for my liking but it was a fun way to impress al the newbie's. _You may have noticed that there are players among you who wear different looking gear than the rest of you. These are the Beta testers who have all agreed to get a small advantage consisting of better gear and an xp boost for two months. Because of this unfair advantage the Beta testers' level will be capped at 2 for the next two weeks. Every two weeks all the regular players will get to vote whether or not the level cap will be removed. _That was strange… Why would Kayaba first reward the Beta testers only to take their advantage from them with a level cap? _You may have noticed that the log out button is missing from your menu. This isn't a bug, it's a feature. The only when to leave this game is when you complete it by defeating the boss on the 100__th__ floor of Aincrad. If someone outside of the game will try to get you out by turning the nervegear off or cutting the power, the nervegear will kill you. From this moment when you die in game, you die in real life. There are no second chances in Sword Art Online. If you are all still here after six months you can also participate in a tournament were the 500 strongest will be released. After all, I'm not unreasonable… _I clenched my fist in frustration. The tournament wasn't an act of mercy at all! It was just meant to prevent all the players from working together for fear of competition. _To celebrate the start of this legendary game I have given everyone a special gift. It is added to your inventory as we speak._

I opened my inventory to see that I had indeed received a gift called "hand mirror". I took it out and studied Kayaba's gift. It looked to be nothing more than an ordinary square mirror. After a few seconds I was surprised to find myself glowing again. I prepared myself to be transported once more, but after a few seconds the glowing started to recede. Looking around I started to notice that something was definitely off. Weren't there a lot more girls on this square? And why did everything suddenly looked bigger? I looked back to the mirror only to find myself staring at my own face! The mirror had apparently turned us into a perfect copy of our real body's.

Kayaba voice vanished after dramatically starting the game with a last sentence. I couldn't even hear it… all around me players were starting to panic. Some were screaming that this must be some kind of joke. Others were just hiding themselves in alleys and trying not to let it be noticed that they were silently crying. The Beta testers were just standing there, not knowing what to do when they were held back by Kayaba's level cap. The chaos was worse than any of the battles I had seen in the beta. I equipped my sword and sprinted out of the Town of Beginnings. If I was going to be of any use to anyone in the game, I needed to become a lot stronger.

I needed to become a lot stronger FAST.

**AN: Okay… that was pretty hard. At first I wanted to introduce Klein in this chapter, but I just couldn't write their meeting in this chapter without losing all my motivation. So I just decided to completely change the circumstances and time of his introduction. I'm also bit doubtful if I haven't made Kayaba a tad too evil… Anyway, thanks for reading! And please review!**


	3. Ch 03 Voting

**AN: I'm back again… Just start reading this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters (which is probably for the best).**

_Spoken words_

"Written text"

**Chapter 3: Voting**

I was getting reckless. The labyrinth of the 1st floor was the best place to level. The drops were decent and it was probably the only place on the 1st floor that wasn't crowded. There was a very good reason for that though. The Ruin Kobold Troopers that flooded this place were the first humanoid-type monsters in the game that the players had encountered. After dozens of players falling to the trooper's sword skills, most players deemed the place too dangerous to train and went back to fighting boars and nepents. It would mean would mean a long delay in clearing the first floor, but who could blame them? Death really meant death in this game after all. And so it came to be that I was practically alone in the labyrinth hunting all these mobs without any backup. Not that there would be backup in the safer hunting grounds. All the players treated each other as rivals rather than fellow prisoners of Kayaba just like he had probably planned. That bastard had even turned the pain dampener off which made almost everyone refuse to help players in need for fear of getting hurt.

In order to accommodate to this new function that wasn't used in the beta, a few other changes had to be made. Injuries like broken bones or bleeding wounds could now be inflicted on players, making it harder to pull out of a battle when thing got tuff. If you are wondering why then just imagine trying to run away from a horde of monsters with a broken leg. The seriousness of an injury is influenced by the percentage hp you have left. It is also impossible for one injury to cause another. This meant that a broken rib cant cause a punctured lung. A higher defence stat will also make your skin harder to penetrate and your bones less likely to break. While battle regeneration and potions can heal your injuries alongside your hp which meant it was impossible to be maimed.

Right now I was fighting three Kobold Troopers simultaneously. They weren't such a problem to deal with as long as you remembered to bring enough health potions and fight them one at the time… I almost decapitated one when a forth Kobold who had just spawned snuck up to me and rammed his axe in my back sending my hp straight into the yellow zone. The feeling of the axe breaking a few of my ribs was horrible. Luckily the Kobold just did normal strike. If he had used a sword skill I would have been a goner. I somehow managed to get enough strength together to create some space between me and the Kobolds by using a horizontal sword skill and quickly jumping back. As soon as I landed I gulped down a health potion. I started to run while grimacing. No matter how many times I healed my bone fractures, it just feeling of bones suddenly popping back into place was something I would probably never get used to.

It was shame that I couldn't finish the Kobolds off, but it was necessary. Fighting on was doable, fighting two was dangerous, fighting three was just plain suicide while even I wasn't reckless enough to take on four of them at the same time when I had just reached level 5. I was Starting to run a little faster while quickly looking around the corner before taking a path to my left . There was a safe zone nearby that I was heading for. The voting that was going to release the beta tester would begin in a few minutes. The beta testers were forced to stay in the Town of Beginnings for the past two weeks because of Kayaba's stupid level cap. It could have been worse though. They had only lost two weeks. Sure, it must have been pretty frustrating to be unable to do anything when there is so much at stake. Today that would end, I thought while taking a seat on a tree stump inside the safe zone.

Already planning ahead, I decided should probably pay a visit to Argo again after she was released. After all, there wasn't any information broker in the Beta that knew even half as much as Argo did. If she was still in the information dealing business she could become a very valuable ally if one could be smart enough to be able to deal with her. She could be very nice if she wanted to since being rude was bad for her business, but if you let your guard down when dealing with her you would find yourself without both useful information and col. If you knew how to deal with here than you had a huge advantage over the other players. Argo always knew where to find the best hunting spots and quests, which players were willing to sell some good equipment and even when and were certain events would take place. I absently wondered how this being a death game now would affect the prices she set for het valuable knowledge.

I almost failed to notice the small message I received that signalled that the poll had been opened. I jumped up and opened the message which triggered a small screen to appear in front of me.

**The beta tester's level should cap be removed**

**No**

**Yes**

**(**_**You can only select one option**_**)**

I immediately selected the second option making the screen disappear again. I sat back down on the tree stump waiting for the results to come in. What was Kayaba trying to accomplish with this? Two weeks just weren't enough to cause the players a major setback. Of course it was still annoying, but the changes caused by this weren't anything major. This would only make the frustrated beta testers even more motivated. What was his plan?

A new message appeared in to tell me that the results of the first vote were counted by the system. I took a quick glance at the results before moving my hand to delete it again. I stopped myself just before I could delete the screen. Something seemed off about the results. This time I actually read the results but they didn't seem to make any sense. It was just impossible to grasp.

**The beta tester's level should cap be removed**

**Results:**

**Players in favour: 578**

**Players opposed: 6689**

…

**AN: That's it for now. I would first like to thank Delta Marauder who gave me the idea to turn the pain dampener off. I hope you that at least some of you like the wounding system I will be using in this fanfic. I quite like it. Anyway, thanks for reading! And please review.**


	4. Ch 04 The Town that never Started

**AN: Back again. Just wanted to say that I switched the way I write "spoken words" and **_**written text. **_**I didn't like the way it looked. Enjoy this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters (which is probably for the best).**

_Written text_

"spoken words"

**Chapter 4: The Town that never started**

*Two days later*

How could this be possible?! It would have been barely understandable if this had just been an ordinary game. The envy of the experience boost in combination with their special gear could be called a reason to vote against them. But this wasn't a normal game. Two weeks ago Sword Art Online had become a death game. To complete the game we would need all the help we could get. Refusing the beta testers was just plain stupid! The beta testers were far more knowledgeable about the first 5 floors then the rest of the players combined. The player deaths that occurred when they tried to train against the Kobold Troopers could have been avoided if there had been a couple beta testers around. They weren't useful to anyone when they were all locked up in the Town of Beginnings, or as I already heard it being called once: The Town that never Started.

As I cut my way through a couple of boars that were in my way, I noticed the Town of Beginnings starting to appear on the horizon. I wondered what would be going on in there. Boars were probably the only monsters they could fight considering their level and you could only fight boars for a certain amount of time before you started to go insane. Some would probably try to set up a shop so they could at least do something. It was an awful waste of capable players, but I guess it was preferable to not being able to do anything. The only problem was that they wouldn't be able to travel between different towns on the first floor without an escort. The roads to the second town were quite hazardous to anyone below level three.

When I entered the town I immediately noticed that something was terribly off. The town was almost deserted. One thousand beta testers weren't enough to populate the enormous town and apparently none of the others players were visiting the main city. The beta testers themselves were doing absolutely nothing. All of them seemed to be trying to hear something. Everyone was just waiting to be released. The atmosphere was probably the worst thing about the town. I could almost taste the frustration. The frustration was primarily directed at Kayaba for now, but how long would it be before it would shift to the other players for keeping them locked up. I quickly made my way to the inn where Argo had agreed to meet me.

*Flashback two days ago*

I was just trying to comprehend the consequences of the results I just received when I received a message.

_Kirito,_

_You must have seen the results of the first voting. I heard you didn't accept Kayaba's gift and because of this you never got your level capped. Meet me in two days at 6 pm at the copper kettle inn. It's a new inn that wasn't there in the Beta. It is located close to the south gate in the Town of Beginnings._

_Don't be late,_

_Argo_

_P.S. for 300 col I will bring some decent food._

Immediately starting to write a message back to Argo agreeing to meet her. I thought for quite a long time before deciding to tell her that bringing the food wouldn't be necessary. My stomach was pretty desperate for something else than just bread rolls, but considering the way thing were going right now I decided against it. I just couldn't afford any luxury right now. All my money was needed to buy a lot of potions, teleport crystals and to upgrade my equipment.

I reread the message from Argo again. Something about it just seemed wrong… It was clear that she was just as shocked about the voting as I was. The fact that she hadn't used that stupid nickname she gave me was evidence of that. But what did she need me for? I decided to go back to farming experience again. In two days I would find out what she wanted of me anyway.

*Flashback end*

The inn was aside from the npc innkeeper completely abandoned, which was kind of strange because the place looked nice enough. Sure, it might be a bit dark inside, but the chairs looked comfortable and the flames burning in the fireplace gave it a cosy feeling. I sat down at the table furthest away from the door and chose the chair that gave me a good view on door. According to the clock in my menu I still got ten minutes left before Argo would show up. Not having anything to do I slowly drifted off to sleep.

"It's good to see that you're still the same Kii-bou that I used to know in the Beta."

"If you mean that I still know how to fake sleeping, than I am indeed an unchanged man." I responded without looking up. I opened my eyes and looked at the girl sitting beside me.

"How are you doing Argo? Still wearing those whiskers I see."

Argo frowned at me for a long time, frustrated that her entrance wasn't as surprising as she had hoped it would be, before a mischievous glint appeared in her eyes.

"If you were truly awake, why did you never tell me? I've been sitting next to a snoring swordsman for the last twenty minutes."

Not eager to answer, I took another look at Argo. Her gear got my attention.

"You didn't accept Kayaba's offer either, didn't you?"

"No…"

"Why?"

"For 300 col I could tell you."

"Argo…"

"For you I could make it 150."

"Argo!"

"Relax Ki-bou. Let's just say being different than 80 percent of your clientele is bad for business."

I Sensed there was more behind it than just business, but I decided to just let it rest. There was usually a good reason for it when there was information that Argo wouldn't willingly give up. After a couple more minutes of catching up my curiosity finally got the best of me.

"Are you still going to tell me why I am here? And no, I won't be paying for that information!" I quickly added when I saw Argo's grin reappear.

Argo pouted playfully for a few seconds before her expression changed. She suddenly looked worried and very tired.

"I've decided to help the Beta testers to be released from the level cap by convincing normal players that we need them. The problem is that I can't do it all on my own. I can't convince 3000 players by myself. The problem is that I there is nobody willing to waste their time helping others players. Everyone is busy trying to become the strongest because of Kayaba's stupid tournament."

"You want me to help you, don't you?" I guessed, a frown appearing on my face.

"I need someone like you Ki-bou. I'm not very good at making friends, you know that! You seem to be able to make them without even trying… I would be able to pay you for your efforts." She added after a while.

While I agreed with Argo that something had to be done about the voting, I was reluctant to offer her my help. I needed all the time I had for hunting and experience farming. Then I remembered the frustration I had felt outside. They weren't able to do anything while the other players threw away lives that could otherwise be saved.

"What do you need me to do?"

**AN: First conversation I've ever written! I hope it wasn't to awkward. Don't exactly know where to go from here on. I've already got some ideas for this story, but I have yet to decide how I will approach these events… Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review if you have any comments on this story, ideas for the story or tips for my writing. I would like to improve.**


	5. Ch 05 Good company?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sword Art Online or any of the characters (which is probably for the best).**

_Written text_

"spoken words"

**Chapter 5: Good company?**

It was already dark by the time I left the city. My body was telling me to call it a night and go to sleep, but I had lost quite a bit of valuable time because Argo had insisted on sharing super with her new "business partner". She completely ignored my protests about how I needed all my free time for levelling and shoved me in the nearest chair saying that even I needed to take a break once I a while. The dinner itself turned out to be surprisingly more bearable than I had originally anticipated. It had been a relief to finally eat something that wasn't a bread roll while being warmer and more comfortable than I had been since this cursed game began. Argo gave me all the info she had about the changes to the game since the beta test free of charge! It had been a both productive and pleasant evening until I got up to leave for some late-night training.

"So you know what I need you to do?" Argo asked for the umpteenth time.

"You need me to convince as many players as possible to vote in favour of the Beta-testers, but more importantly, I need to find anyone willing to aid us in our endeavours…" I answered sighing.

"It almost sounds it bit like a guild with you as the guild-leader, doesn't it?" I asked looking intently at a suddenly very innocent looking Argo.

I turned around and started heading for the exit while telling her that as long as she wouldn't see me as a part of her guild I wouldn't judge her.

As I was trying to leave I suddenly walked straight against a barrier. I turned around to see a smirking Argo still sitting at the table.

"You forgot to pay for our meal Ki-bou."

"…"

"425 col for a meal was just ridiculous" I mumbled while trying to find my regular training spot in the dark forest. I couldn't believe that I fell for one of Argo's trademark-tricks again! I was so deep in my own thoughts that I almost didn't notice that I wasn't the only one who seemed to be mad enough to try to gain a level at this hour. Where those the sounds of several people shouting I was hearing? Surely I had to be mistaken, but… There was that sound again! It took me a few minutes to decide whether I would approach them. After all, from now till the sun would rise again was time that I had reserved for some levelling and a little sleeping. It wasn't like Argo would expect me to do this "convincing" as she called it immediately right? Steeling my resolve I just went ahead to my usual spot.

"She just can't expect me to neglect my own level and gear, can she?"

On the other hand, If I was already starting to talk to myself then it was painfully clear I was in need of some human contact. But there was plenty of time for that tomorrow!... Wait a minute… Why was the shouting getting louder? So far I had been lucky that my spot had yet to be discovered by any other player. Had my luck finally ran out? Sighing I figured that since my night of levelling was out of the window anyway, I might as well go talk to them. Rather them to openly approach them I decided that I would sneak up on them so I could see what kind of people I would be dealing with. While nearing the small opening in the forest where I had spent many hours I noticed to my shock that I wasn't the only one sneaking up on them. 3 Ruin Kobold Sentinels were closing in on the group without them noticing! The group itself consisted out of 6 guys who seemed at least more capable than the average player, but they were severely under levelled to take on a small group of Sentinels. Just before one of the sentinels was about to strike the tallest guy I used the Sword-skill rage-spike to quickly close the distance. What followed was that the other two sentinels decided to rush in as well while the first was only temporarily stunned and seemed unfazed by my attack. I quickly shouted to the group to defend themselves before I refocused all my attention to the now charging enemies. The guy who I had saved only moments ago seemed to be able to keep his cool in this situation and quickly ordered his friends to make a defensive formation.

Making a hasty assessment of the situation I decided to use another rage-spike to attack the sentinel that was a bit behind the other two and hadn't yet left the trees. Growling in annoyance I was forced to duck behind a tree when the rage-spike did not stun the sentinel. A quick glance told me that the two enemies I had passed were engaging the other players. Dodging my own enemy again mad me notice that the sentinel was unable to properly use his halberd because of all the trees. This gave me an idea on how to finish this fight as quickly as possible. First I kept backing away from his attacks and slowly luring him towards a slightly thicker tree. Then I made my stand just past the tree, keeping it to my left so he was unable to strike me from that direction. As soon as he started another downward strike, I immediately dodged to the left past the tree and charged the now completely open sentinel with a quick succession of slashes. When I returned to the other fight that was still going on, I was met with a unexpected pleasant surprise. While the group was obviously standing on its last leg, they were all still alive and had actually managed to defeat one of the sentinels in open terrain! Deciding to distract the last sentinel so they could finish it off, I took pin from my pocket and threw it at its helmet. Immediately after the helmet turned in my direction, the tall guy who was apparently was the leader of the group caught on, on what I was trying to do and stuck his knife in the throat of the monster effectively killing it. A loud, tired cheer was heard from the rest of the group before most of them turned really quiet after realizing that they had been really close to a very real death. The leader however didn't some to be bothered by it at all as he laughed and walked over to me.

"Why all the long faces! We've got some decent stuff and exp from that fight with only a little risk!"

"The risk would have been even smaller, hadn't you decided to waste your long reach by wielding a tiny dagger." I reacted dryly. "Maybe a longer weapon like a katana would suit you much better?"

The man looked at his dagger frowning, as if he was berating the weapon for embarrassing him in front of his friends, before putting it away while shrugging. "it's decent. Besides, it's not like we were able to get anything better"

I forced myself to look understanding and smiled. "you guys were lucky I just happened to be near, or those sentinels would have taken you completely by surprise."

"We would have survived anyway, but I must say that your warning has saved us quite a lot of col since we didn't need to use our teleport crystals"

Looking to the rest of his group I decided that this was the perfect group to start the Argo's plan with and I invited them for a drink at a nearby inn at my costs. After the others had convinced their leader, I realised that I had not even introduced myself. Not that it was strictly necessary of course. The nametag above all the players gave you that information, but it was still weird not to introduce yourself.

"My name is Kirito by the way. And you are?"

**AN: As you may have noticed, I am not a regular updater. The next one probably won't take as long as this took but I can't promise you anything. I haven't abandoned writing yet!**

**Yours faithfully,**

**Breagen Berjik**


End file.
